Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe

Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, a country characterised by an unusually extensive Ismaili population for over a thousand years.^[1] The region of Badakhshan, which spills over northeastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan and North Pakistan, is the only part of the world where Ismailis make up the majority of the population.^[2] Under Soviet rule, the religion was discouraged, but since 1991 has increased its public prominence, and the Personal Representative of the Ismaili imamate has been granted full diplomatic status.^[3] In May 1995, Aga Khan IV became the first Aga Khan known to have visited the region, invited by the governments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.^[4]

The Centre is both representational of traditional architecture within the region, and ambassadorial through the social and educational programming offered.^[1]

Following extensive development work for Ismaili people in Tajikistan, the Centre was inaugurated on 12 October 2009 by the Aga Khan and the Tajikistani president, Emomali Rahmon^[4] (though as of 2013 not all of its planned functionality had been implemented).^[5] The Centre has given the traditionally peripheral Ismailis a prominent architectural focus in the capital city,^[4] while retaining the Ismaili Centres' customary sense of seclusion for those within the building,^[6] and is a mark of the increasing integration of Tajik Ismailis into the global Ismaili community.^[7] The Centre was designed 'to become part of the fabric of the civil life of the area',^[8] with the ambition of spiritual and intellectual advancement,^[1][9] and accordingly includes not only facilities for worship, but also for conferences, lectures and cultural performances (including translation booths, enabling simultaneous multilingual delivery of events) to encourage reciprocity in learning.^[10][9]